“Better a hole than an a**hole.”
My understanding
Culture is built one hire at a time. Every person brought into a team shapes not only the output but the experience of working together. Duolingo’s blunt but refreshingly honest motto (“Better a hole than an a**hole.”) captures a truth that many organizations quietly learn the hard way: technical skills matter, but character and attitude shape everything.
When there’s a gap in the team, it’s easy to feel pressure to fill it quickly. Deadlines loom, workloads pile up, and urgency takes over. But hiring just to fill a role can lead to bigger problems. A toxic personality, no matter how talented, can introduce tension, disrupt collaboration, and damage trust. One wrong hire can slow progress more than an unfilled role ever could.
A “hole” in the team means the work might be tougher in the short term. But the team’s integrity remains. Trust stays intact. Culture stays protected. And that’s worth preserving. Once trust is broken, it’s hard to rebuild. Good people often leave quietly when the atmosphere no longer feels safe or aligned with their values.
This quote reminds me that values don’t live in handbooks or onboarding slides. They live in the decisions we make. Who we hire, how we give feedback, what we allow, and what we stand for.
Choosing not to compromise is an act of respect. It shows we care about the people who are already here, and the kind of team we’re committed to building.
When we do hire the right people, everything gets better. The energy lifts. Collaboration improves. Trust deepens. These are the hires who stay, grow, and raise the bar for everyone around them. They’re the reason it’s worth waiting.
Because a great culture isn’t rushed. It’s built. Carefully, intentionally, and one person at a time.
Reminds me
-
From Dieter Rams, “Limit everything to the essential, but do not remove the poetry.”
-
“A fool with a tool is still a fool.” I don’t know who said that, but it reminds me that tools, no matter how advanced, don’t replace knowledge or skill.
-
From Bill Moggridge, “If there’s a simple, easy design principle that binds everything together, it’s probably about starting with the people.”
Sources
